


Leather Jacket

by queenofkeys



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: F/M, Reader Insert, best friends in love cliche, malarkey in a leather biker jacket that should be a warning right?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 09:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10896774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofkeys/pseuds/queenofkeys





	Leather Jacket

A familiar rumbling woke me from my impromptu sleep. _‘Don’s motorbike’_ , my tired brain helpfully supplied as I sat back up and rubbed the back of my neck, the couch hardly the most comfortable thing to fall asleep on.

I had been intending on clearing up. Stacks of textbooks and sheets of paper surrounded me, there were even several pens on the floor, all the result of my frantic revising for the exam I had taken only this morning.

I had always known that evening school was going to take a hell of a commitment on my part, especially while holding down a job at the same time, but I don't think I had quite realised the toll it would take.

I was incredibly thankful for my best friend and roommate Malarkey. He was always so incredibly supportive of me and while he didn’t sweat the small stuff, he was also pulled together enough, to keep our apartment semi-tidy. I was sure he had done more than his fair share of the housework these last couple of weeks, while I had be wrapped up in my studying. He had even fixed the squeaky door, when I had a near hysterical breakdown over the sound disturbing me from my studies. Not my proudest moment admittedly, but all the intense studying had begun to wear on me and had admittedly sent me a little bit round the bend.

He was saint.

Except he wasn’t.

Because it was Malarkey and I knew exactly what kind of mischief he was capable of, but I figured after these last couple of weeks, he was close enough.

The key barely stuck in the lock this time as he entered, (yet just another thing that he had fixed up), his helmet in hand and that usual, wide grin (with just a touch of cheeky) on his face.

He cut a striking presence in his leather biker jacket, probably too striking to me considering our friendship, but I couldn't help but admire the way that the jacket accentuated his shoulders and arms. I had been living with him for far too long and seen him sneak out of the shower wrapped in just a towel, a few too many times, for me not to realise the strong yet subtle muscle definition that laid there.

“Afternoon there, Sleeping Beauty” he said in greeting upon seeing my tussled hair, sleepy expression, not to mention the mess still surrounding me and coming quite correctly to the right assumption. I half grumbled in reply, not really saying anything, but I grinned up at him, finding his good humour infectious.

“Is that champagne?” I asked, my eyes widening as I finally paid attention to the bottle that he held in his hand.

“Well, got to celebrate your results, don't we?” he replied, holding up the bottle as if to give me a better look. There was a sweetness to his smile that sent my heart fluttering, even if he had missed a rather vital point.

“I only took the test today, Don. I don't even know if I passed yet” I told him, but he merely shrugged my words off and set the champagne bottle down on the table. It looked almost out of place surrounded by all my revision materials.

Malark dropped to the couch beside me, nonchalantly slinging his arm over my shoulders and squeezing.

“Of course you did. The way you studied your ass off? No way you flunked. And you're smart. Way smarter than I am” he replied.

“What would I do without my number one believer?” I teased, a smile quickly forming on my face at his assurances.

“You'd survive. Your life would be a lot less entertaining though” Don joked with a small chuckle, that seemed to emanate from the very centre of his chest.

“And you're smart too!” I added in protest.

He merely shook his head, leaning his head back against the couch and closing his eyes momentarily. I tried not to watch the way his throat contracted as he gulped momentarily.

“Not smart like you though” he countered, opening his eyes and turning to look at me. 

“If we're not opening the champagne quite yet, Skip, Penkala and I, we were thinking about taking you out for the night…” he paused as he watched me stifle a yawn and he laughed to himself. “But perhaps we should give that a miss too. I still remember what happened last time we took you out half exhausted”. He punctuated his words with a cheeky wink and I tried not to groan.

To say that drinking and a tired me didn’t mix, would have been an understatement. Last time I had done so, I had ended up crawling under a table and had decided to take an impromptu nap. Malarkey had ended up having to carry me home. Of course, the guys had never let me forget it.

+

In the end we decided on getting Chinese delivered instead, though there was a minor squabble over who was paying. Don wanted it to be his treat, while I was determined to pay him back for his support and all the work around house he had be doing on my behalf. The bemused delivery girl ended up looking on as we resorted to Rock, Paper, Scissors in order to sort the matter out. Don won, (because he was always good at these kind of games and I really should know better by now than to agree to them) and so I ended up only paying the last several dollars of the bill and making sure the delivery girl had a generous tip for putting up with us and waiting on the doorstep for five minutes as we attempted to pull ourselves together.

Afterwards we curled up on the couch together, some old western playing on the tv. I was sat next to him but facing to the side, my legs hooked over his as Don massaged shapes near the underside of my knee.

There was something hypnotic in the rhythmic way his hand moved over my leg, perhaps occasionally straying further up my thigh than he should and I had to suppress a shudder each time,my eyes half closing. 

Malarkey’s touch always felt so indulgent to me, a feeling to bask in, even when I knew I was treading distinctly dangerous territory by feeling like that. I couldn’t seem to help myself though, my eyes focusing in on his hands. I could see where the skin was rougher, slightly jagged in places, could see the light hairs on the back of his hand, could see the tan line that had been left by his watch and felt incredibly tempted to reach out and trace that line of pale skin. Without even really thinking about it, I gave into that temptation. I felt him tense as I ran my fingers over his skin, but he turned his hand over for me, exposing his inner wrist to me and my fingers continued to trace a line. This time he shuddered and I was suddenly hit with the full force of his gaze. I held his eyes for a moment as I sheepishly pulled my hands back. Something seemed to flicker in the depths of his eyes, but it was gone before I could even identify what it was. 

I felt thrown, off-kilter and I turned my face back towards the direction of the tv, trying to ignore the way Don’s gaze lingered for a moment, before he too dropped it.

Time passed and I felt curiously naked and vulnerable without the warmth and steadiness of his hand on my knee. I was distracted, paying little attention to the film and it was clearly obvious to Don, judging by the glances he kept giving me.

“I thought you would be giving that amazing brain of yours a rest. What you thinking about, darling?” he asked and I caught onto the affection nickname. Don rarely used terms of endearments but when he did, he always seemed to use them without even really thinking about it. As if it was second nature to him.

I forced my thoughts away from whatever the road they seemed to be trailing down. I knew only trouble laid there and it wouldn't do to get caught up in it. Don was one of the most important people in my life, one of my closest friends and I refused to allow myself to ruin it. I would be totally lost without him.

“Not thinking, just tired. I just keep zoning out” I replied making an excuse. As if on cue, a small yawn worked it's way out from my mouth. He still didn’t look too convinced by my words though and I inwardly cursed his ability to read me so well. Of course, me being me, couldn’t just let it be and I ploughed on with my excuses, even as I knew that I wasn’t fooling anyone. 

“Honestly.. I just need a good night's sleep. Preferably one where I'm not haunted by textbooks in my dreams,” I paused for a moment. “In fact I think I'm going to call it a early night”. 

I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek as per my usual custom. I could feel the day's growth of stubble under my lips and caught a faint trace of his familiar aftershave. 

“I'll see you tomorrow” I added before leaving the room. I didn’t get to see the way Don sighed, before letting his head fall back against the couch, a frown creasing his face.

+

When I descended the stairs the following morning, I was surprised to find Don waiting for me. Usually he would have left by now, but instead he was stood by the front door, his leather jacket already on, though not zipped and the keys to his motorbike still laid abandoned on the side.

“What's wrong? Shouldn't you be meeting Skip by now?” I asked in concern, my mind automatically moving into a state of panic at his uncharacteristic change in routine. 

“I will be. Later, anyway,” Don replied. He gave a small chuckle. “And no nothing is wrong. No need to panic” he added. I was sure that he was aiming to be reassuring, but there was something almost off with his tone. A note of worry, of nervousness, that was nearly impossible for me to catch and I could only hear it in a certain lilt to his words.

“Don..” I said, my tone low and concerned enough to be a warning in itself. He took another step towards me and I was caught by exactly how close he was. His chest was brushing up against mine, the faint scent of leather filling my nose and his eyes were intense. _‘Just like they had been last night’_.

“There’s something I need to tell you” he told me and I fought the urge not to turn and flee from the spot right then and there. In my opinion, ‘There's something I need to tell you’ and ‘We need to talk’ were exactly the same thing and everyone knew how the latter went. 

I stood my ground though because Malarkey deserved at least that much, even if my nervousness seemed to increasing with every second. He seemed to know how I was feeling though, resting his hand on my upper arm and rubbing it reassuringly.

“You know, I've lost count of the amount of times that Skip’s told me I'm one blind bastard” Don said and a very unintelligent, “Huh?” escaped my mouth, already feeling completely thrown by where this conversation was going.

“Penkala disagrees. He says I'm just a stupid one” he added with a small, wry grin that didn't really seem focused in my direction, even though he was still watching me intently. I kept quiet, thoroughly confused by what was going on and waited for him to explain. Waited for him to say anything that made any sense.

“I don’t think I'm either of those things. I’ve always noticed you. Always seen you. It's just easier to pretend so I wouldn't get hurt. So you wouldn’t be hurt” he seemed to be stumbling over his words, trying to say something without actually saying anything, but I could fill in the blanks. Could hear what he was telling me.

“You’re one of my closest friends. You always have been. But I'm in love with you too. After last night…” At this he trailed off, instead examining me intently, as if he was searching for something held deep within my eyes. I could feel his hand slide up from my arm to cup the back of my neck, his thumb scraping pleasurably over my pulse point as he did, already stirring something within me. 

“Don, I…” I was cut off by the feel of his lips on mine. Not that I had known exactly what I was going to say anyway…

His lips were warm and soft as they moved over mine slowly, his grip on the back of my neck tightening and pulling me closer as I responded to him. I felt my body collide against his, but his strong chest caught me and my hands inadvertently gripped onto the unzipped edges of his jacket, the leather smooth under my grip as my eagerness seemed to get the best of me.

I wasn’t the only one though. I could feel Don’s enthusiasm increase as I responded to him, his mouth slipping over mine at a slightly different angle, the kiss deepening as his fingers slipped further up my neck and half entangled themselves in my hair. It was intoxicating having him so close, a half moan catching in the back of my throat, only to hear a familiar sound from him in kind.

I couldn’t hide my gasp as his lips slipped from mine and trailed to my neck, so soft in their kisses. Almost too soft, as he continued to tease me. And I knew that was exactly what he was doing, as I could feel the way he was grinning against my skin, as he both felt and heard the way I was reacting to him. I shivered in his grasp as his lips grazed a particularly sensitive spot, my fingers losing their grip on his jacket and curling into the front of his shirt instead.

He sighed happily at my touch, his nose gliding over the line of my neck and if I hadn’t been feeling giddy by then, I would have been. There was something almost awe-inspiring to know that I could have that kind of effect on him. That I could make this amazing man so happy with the barest of touches.

I felt his teeth dip pleasurably into the softness of my skin and I let out whimper that only deepened as he pulled away to look at me again, cupping my face in both of his hands. He was flushed in the face, the redness disappearing under the collar of his t-shirt, his breathing slightly disordered and deeper than usual.

“I love you, Don” I told him, finally realising _exactly what it was_ I had wanted to tell him earlier. His grin was wide, his face practically lighting up at my words. There was an excitement to his eyes that I wasn’t use to seeing as he looked at me.

“Well, thank Christ for that, darling” he replied, smiling as he watched me blush at the endearment. 

“You like when I call you darling?” he teased, his thumbs brushing slowly over my cheeks. I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved at his shoulder, but didn't get too far before he caught my hands and pulled me against him again.

I could feel the cool leather of his jacket pressing against my skin and it was a stark reminder of just where he was suppose to be right now.

“Do you have to go?” I asked, reluctant to let him go so soon after such revelations. My fingers curled around the opened edges of his jacket again, as if to further demonstrate my point.

Don tucked his fingers under my chin and tilted my face up to his, allowing me to see the smile gracing his face before pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my lips that was almost sinful in its sensuality.

“I think I could manage to stay” he said as he pulled away, an underlying promise lingering in the tonation of his words.


End file.
